Selected Abstracts

The utility of the Dutch Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 for assessing health status in individuals with haemophilia: a pilot study

HAEMOPHILIA, Issue 6 2000N. L. U. Van Meeteren
The aim of this pilot study was to examine the usefulness of the Dutch version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (D-AIMS2)in assessing the health status of Dutch individuals with haemophilia.
Sixty-eight individuals with mild, moderate, and severe haemophilia attending our clinic for their annual check-up participated.
They first completed the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM).
The D-AIMS2 was filled in afterwards at home.
With the COPM, individuals rated their specific problematic activities of daily life (ADL), as well as the severity and importance of each problem.
The D-AIMS2 is a comprehensive, self-administered questionnaire that evaluates functional health status.
Fifty-seven individuals completed and returned the D-AIMS2.
Reliability analysis demonstrated good internal consistency for the scales (Cronbach's ,=0.76,1.00), as well as for the components (,=0.80,0.88), except for the component ,social interaction' (,=0.44).
Criterion validity of the D-AIMS2 was assessed by comparison with COPM outcomes; 80% of the problematic ADLs were included in the questionnaire, 20% were missing.
Correlations between the D-AIMS2 components ,physical health' and ,symptoms' with predicted scores of those individuals by a highly experienced physiotherapist (r=0.63 and 0.53, respectively) substantiated its concurrent validity.
Based on these results we concluded that the D-AIMS2, with minor adjustments, can be an appropriate tool for assessing the health status of Dutch haemophilia patients.
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Reliability and validity of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure for clients with psychiatric disorders in Taiwan

Routine administration of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure: Effect on functional outcome

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010Heather Colquhoun
Background/aim:,Routinely using outcome measures as an integral component of practice has been encouraged for decades yet has not been widely adopted.
There are many reasons to measure outcomes yet any positive effect of measurement on our programs or clients has not been substantiated.
If the time-consuming nature of outcome measurement is to be encouraged, we need to begin addressing larger questions of the value of outcome measurement on care and outcomes.
This cohort study evaluated the impact of routinely administering the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure on client outcomes on a geriatric rehabilitation unit.
Methods:,Changes in Functional Independence Measure‘ scores between an experimental group (n = 45) that received the routine use of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure for evaluation/planning versus a historical comparison group (n = 58) that received ,usual' care were analysed using generalised linear modeling.
Results:,Both groups had significant changes in Functional Independence Measure‘ scores over time.
Results for differences between groups were inconclusive with a significantly underpowered analysis; however, results suggest that a medium to large effect of this intervention cannot be expected.
Conclusions:,Results are significant for the field of routine outcome measurement, suggesting that when adding the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure to routine assessment within an inpatient rehabilitation setting, substantially improved Functional Independence Measure‘ score outcomes should not be expected.
The value of routine outcome measurement on client outcomes remains largely unexplored.
Routinely, using outcome measures requires additional research to determine the specific benefits to our programs and client outcomes.
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The Tree Theme Method as an intervention in psychosocial occupational therapy: Client acceptability and outcomes

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009A. Birgitta Gunnarsson
Background/aim:,The Tree Theme Method (TTM) is an intervention in which the client paints trees representing certain periods in his/her life.
The intervention comprises five sessions, using trees as a starting point to tell one's life story.
This study, which is part of an implementation project, aimed to examine the therapeutic alliance and client satisfaction, in relation to perceptions of everyday occupations and health-related factors, with clients going through a TTM intervention.
Methods:,Nine occupational therapists recruited 35 clients, at general outpatient mental health care units, for the TTM intervention.
Self-rating instruments, targeting therapeutic alliance (HAq-II), different aspects of daily occupations (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Satisfaction with Daily Occupations), health-related factors (Sense of Coherence measure, Mastery Scale, Symptom Checklist-90-R) and client satisfaction (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire), were administrated before and after the intervention.
Results:,A good initial therapeutic alliance, experienced by both therapists and clients, was correlated to increased changes regarding occupational performance and self-mastery.
According to the therapists' ratings, a good initial therapeutic alliance was correlated to increased sense of coherence and a decreased level of psychiatric symptoms.
The results showed positive significant changes in occupational performance and health-related factors.
High ratings of the therapeutic alliance by the therapists were also related to high client satisfaction.
Conclusions:,The TTM seemed to function well in psychosocial occupational therapy, but there is a need for further implementation studies to deepen our understanding of the treatment process, comprising both technique and formation of the therapeutic alliance.
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